Chuck vs the aborted Red Test
by Purrum
Summary: This story is what would happen if Chuck refused to complete his red test.
1. 1 The refusal

This story is what would happen if Chuck refused to complete his red test.

 _"_ _Chuck I need you to remain calm. I want you to trust me."_

 _"_ _Why? Are you planning to surprise me with something, Is that what this is?"_

 _"_ _Argh, something like that. Your mission isn't over"._

 _She handed Chuck a blue bubble-wrap envelope. Chuck opens and pulls out a picture of a man._

 _"_ _The man in the photo is the man you ID'd last night. He's a traitor and continues to put civilians and agents at risk. We have arranged for you to meet him here in five minutes time. He knows your CIA and he will be cautious and try to maintain his cover."_

 _She pushed forward a napkin with something concealed inside it. Chuck looks at it suspiciously and opens to reveal a pistol._

 _"_ _The final part of your mission is to kill him!"_

 _"_ _Are you being serious right now? Are you kidding me?" He states in rising alarm. "You want me to kill him here? Now? I can't do that!"_

 _"_ _Then you won't become a spy!"_

 _He gulps a million thoughts race through his head "Then we couldn't…."_

 _"_ _No. Probably not" she broke eye contact and looked down_

He stares down at the table. "Shit" he muttered. He raises his eyes to hers but she was still looking at the table. "Jill was right! They change everyone. NSA, CIA, The Ring, they're all tarred with the same brush!"

That comment got her to look up, he had mention that damn woman's name. Sarah stared at him, not that he noticed since he had stood up and turned away from the table, accidently moving the napkin to reveal to pistol and walk away

.

"Chuck" she calls slightly distressed, but he ignored her. Moving quickly he left the diner and accidently knocked a man in a blue suit with his arm. The man was hit in the solar plexus and he buckled over. Sarah get out of her seat and takes after Chuck, only to stop at the bent over man. She recognizes him as Perry, the mark. This distraction meant that she lost sight of Chuck who has been moving quickly that he has left the foyer. When she looked back again he was gone, out of sight and possibly her life. Chuck removed his GPS tracking CIA issued watch and threw it in a litter bin.

Sarah hears the sound of guns clicking; she looks at the sound to see two police officers with their guns drawn pointing at her. She notices one of the officers has the napkin and pistol in his hand. She has to decide whether to fight or submit, and then she sees more officers coming at her so she raises her hands. "You will come with us, you're under arrest. We want to ask you a few questions!" She is lead away only to notice Perry has slinked off in a different direction.

By the time Chuck has reached his Nerd Herder, he felt like he has steam coming out his ears. He was furious with Sarah, how could she do that to him? He had trusted her and now she's dropped a ton of bricks at a great height on top of him. Bitch, fucking bitch. He takes off his jacket and threw it onto the passenger's seat. He got behind the wheel, he bangs the steering column with his fists, and then he hears the Police sirens approaching the railway station. The herder is too conspicuous; he will have to wait as to not arouse suspicions. He pulled the seat level and reclined the driver seat so he was out of view, he could see the flashing lights repeatedly lighting up his passenger compartment. He was breaking into a sweat as he pressed himself lower into the driver's seat, all the time he was trying to remain at a certain level of calmness and fight off the urge to panic.

The sirens arrive at the station; Chuck waits a few minutes until they leave before starting his Herder and driving away.

Chuck returned to his apartment, Morgan isn't home, luckily Morgan was rostered to lock up the Buy More for the night. Chuck headed straight to his room and decided to change into something way less formal than the suit he was wearing. , track suit pants and a hoody. He knew he wasn't thinking straight as he reached under his bed for the shoebox with all the CIA issued passports. He put the box on his bed and opened the lid and sorted through the contents of the box. Putting the passports to one side he attempts to sort out the different foreign currencies, After a few minutes he realized that it was all small amounts , just a few bill and coins, barely enough for a coffee at the airport. He was still angry about tonight, he stuffed the passports and the money back into the shoebox then kicked it forcefully back under the bed.

Leaving his bedroom he noticed Morgan's 15 speed in the hallway, he stopped to look at it and decided it was perfect. Untrackable.

He wrote Morgan a note. _Borrowed your bike, please return the Herder. C._

Chuck took the bike outside and rode off into the night _._

Inside a holding cell in the Central Police station a very attractive blond in a purple blouse sits uncomfortably on a bench waiting for her supervisor to collect her.


	2. 2 The assignment

**A/N: Chuck has refused to follow orders to kill a traitor**.

Across town inside Castle, Shaw was waiting for info on the nights events. He was surprised when Sarah rang him later than he predicted. He was even more surprised when Sarah asked him to post bail. Shaw had to go downtown to recover his agent from LA's finest.

What was more pressing on Shaw's mind than bailing Sarah out was the fact that the mark, Perry, was still alive. Perry if he had any sense would go to ground and thus be difficult to find.

Sarah's night was turning into a living nightmare, Chuck had stormed off in a huff and refused to follow his orders, now a fellow detainee decided she waited to talk to her. Sarah was not in the mood but she had nowhere to go to avoid her. Killing her was not an option so she just had to put up with it. She took the course of saying very little and just nod at the required times. This lady could talk and she went on and on about the littlest of things. By the time Sarah decided that killing her was now a valid option Shaw had turned up to get her.

Shaw had made his way to the Central Police Station. He spent a considerable amount of time and persuasion into getting his agent released and then more time for the return of her weaponry. Shaw led a rather embarrassed and glum faced agent to his car.

He offered her his jacket because it was cool outside but she refused it. The pressure cooker inside her head is whistling with the steam escaping, Shaw opts to give her some space as he leads her to his car.

The ride back from the Police station was done in deathly silence. Sarah was in the foulest of moods. It certainly was a day she would like to forget. First issuing the Red test which was against her judgement of Chuck, then Chuck's refusal to carry out that order, followed by her getting arrested so she wouldn't blow her cover, watching the mark escape and finally being put in a cell with other low lives.

When she couldn't believe it could get any worst, it was the sideway glances Shaw was giving her as they drove through the empty streets back towards Castle. Shaw was smirking at her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Shaw knew it was going to be hopeless.

"No. I just want to go home!" was the snapped reply.

Shaw didn't need instinct to tell him he wasn't going to get any booty tonight so he turned off, he drove to Sarah's hotel and dropped her off.

"We'll report in tomorrow, clear our heads, and decide our next course of action after a good nights sleep."

Shaw drove off and after watching her go inside he smirked to himself, the CIA's best spy sitting in jail, if only he had taken a picture.

Sarah was relieved; she got home, back to her room. It seemed chillier than she normally thought, cold even, perhaps as cold as she was. She had to have a shower, she felt all grimy and dirty because of what happened tonight. The Police cell wasn't exactly clean and then there was what she had asked for from Chuck. The look Chuck gave back at her , she was dirty and she would never feel clean again.

After the shower she dried herself and made her way over to her bed, she turned her alarm off and then she had a thought. She reached into her bedside drawer and pull the picture of her and Chuck out to look at. She had put away after she began to date Daniel Shaw. She studied the picture and remembered when it was taken. She had been out with Chuck and his family walking in the hills when Ellie took. She rolled over onto he back and held the picture against her breasts. She stayed that way hoping that sleep would come easy, but it didn't.

Meanwhile down at the beach, Chuck was contemplating a late night swim, to let the waves wash over him and wipe the dirty business he somehow wanted to be involved in away. He did however throw plenty of flotsam around and back into the ocean.

Now he was alone, he could think about his relationship with Sarah, he was back at his spot, and the waves were working their usual magic. She was leaving with the other guy, just like Jill, they all leave him. Surprisingly though, the pain was intense, he was having chest pains and he really just wanted to cry.

Chuck wasn't sure if he was more upset at the loss of an opportunity with Sarah or wasting three years chasing someone who, in the end, didn't want him. He wondered if Graham had given her secret orders to turn the Intersect into a heartless killing machine, something he clearly wasn't, and she pretended to be his friend in order to mould him that way. Chuck was wondering if that Sarah never cared for him beyond a casual friendship. During his darkest moments in Sarah's first few months in Burbank, when all hope for a normal life or a normal relationship seemed pointless, there were times when Chuck wondered if everything he thought he knew about Sarah Walker was lies.

He pick up a long stick, he was going to throw it away then he thought better of it, he sat back down an started using the stick to tap the sand. He later started writing a list in the sand of the pros and cons of becoming an agent. The list evidently was heavily lopsided for the cons side. When he ran out of options he stood back to look at what he created, one of the pro's he wrote Sarah. He studied it for a while before stomping the letters of her name out. He hated doing that but it was true, he understood what his life had become. He was a fool, he'd been fooled by all of them, Beckman, Casey, Shaw and especially Sarah. He finally saw what for a long time he had been blind too. He had been stupid; a fool to be manipulated for purposes not for his own wellbeing and Jill had tried to warn him.

As the night got longer the temperature started to drop. There was bit of a breeze starting to pick up and Chuck wondered if he should go home. But what was home, his place was full of NSA listening devices, true they were probably turned off since Casey's dismissal, but there was no guarantee the agency hadn't already switched them back on remotely and re-establishing their eavesdropping .He dug himself a hole, large enough to shelter in, to protect him against the wind, here was the one place at the moment where he could feel isolated from the rest of the world. He had his hole, his stick and his thoughts, that was enough for tonight.


	3. 3 Chuck is out of here

Big Mike Tucker's voice bellowed around the Buy More. "Grimes, Bartowski, My office now"

Morgan shimmied into the office, "Chuck's not here, he pulled an all nighter and is sleeping it off."

"Well go home and wake him up and get him in here, I have very important news for you two."

Morgan left the Buy More and went home to find Chuck but Chuck wasn't there. He found the note and instantly knew where Chuck would be. He knew him so well. Morgan found him at his spot on the beach.

There he was, sitting by himself on the sand. It was obvious that he had been there all night. He was looking a little worse for wear and his clothes were covered with sand. He seemed surprised that it was Morgan who found him there but then perhaps it was for the best. A certain blonde woman was not his favourite person right now and he wouldn't be sure what he would say to her or the way he would say it.

"Dude, I'm glad I found you!"

Chuck turned his head to look at him. "Hi Morgan."

"Dude, you're wanted in the Buy More. We're wanted in the Buy More! Big Mike got something big to announce and we have to be there".

Chuck sighed at the news. The Buy More, when all else fails and your life goes down the gurgler then the Buy More will always be there, keeping you on life support until you are too old and to senile to do something better.

"And it was a good morning."

Chuck shook his head as he stood up and bushed the sand off his backside. Even in his darker moments the Buy More was always needing him. He looked at Morgan and muttered something under his breath. Morgan couldn't hear what he said but decide to let it slide. They made their way off the beach to collect Morgan's beloved 15 speed from the lamppost he had chained it to.

"Open the hatch and I'll put the bike in." Chuck told his friend.

Chuck unlocked the cable that secured the bike and proceeded over to the car. The friends loaded the bike into the back of the Herder and returned to the Buy More. Along the way Chuck hoped that he didn't have to deal with Sarah, it would be too much for him to deal with right now. Fortunately Morgan drove the Herder around the back to the loading dock and parked. The Orange Orange was not visible from here so Chuck was relieved. Had it been visible then he would have saw that the shop was not open this morning and the "Closed" sign was displayed on the door. They entered though the loading bays doors and made their way to the lunchroom where Chuck wanted to change into something fresh and clean. Chuck made a quick change of clothes that he kept in his locker and then they made their way to Big Mike's office.

Big Mike was sitting at his desk when the two friends walked into his office, he was looking at some reports and without looking beckon them to take a seat. He browsed from one report to the other before finally placing both reports down and turning to face his visitors.

"You wanted to see us Big Mike?" Morgan was the one who broke the silence.

Big Mike looked both men in the eye and said, "I've been on the phone all morning with Moses. It seems that the San Diego Buy More is losing money so fast that it putting a severe strain on the rest of the company's operations."

"Is that so?" Morgan quizzed

"The San Diego operations are a mess. I've been making representation to Moses to give you two a change to turn the operations around. Boys, it's time you two took the next step and grow up. You're better than the rest of these morons around here. I believe you two have the ability to turn the San Diego operations around, and I'm staking my reputation on you two. Don't think I don't know what happens around here, I know of the tricks and the stunts you two have pulled in the past, so I'm betting that you can stop all the San Diego crew's hijinx. But the main thing is, the main think is you actually care about the store and the people you work with. You two can make a difference."

Chuck and Morgan looked at each other, and then back at Big Mike. They could not believe their luck. A chance to manage one of the Buy More franchises. After all their career failures and now a lucky break.

Big Mike continued, "The thing is , you two know all the tricks and I know all the crazy stuns performed around here , you two are in the thick of it. Well boys it's time to take the view from the other side. Now you have the chance to call the shots, to maintain the discipline, to get the financial benefits from a profitable store. I know you two can do it. I willing to help in any way I can. If you need any resources then let me know and I'll do my best to see you get it.

Morgan was ecstatic, but he knew implementing discipline was going to be difficult unless he and an ace in the hole.

"Can we take John with us? I think he is about ready to strangle Jeff and Lester."

Big Mike thought about it, and then nodded.

"Yes take him with you, I'll get Skippy to keep the green shirts in line. I'll just have to lean on those two morons myself, maybe the extra work will be good for them."

Mike also called Casey into him office, when he got no response he then sent Morgan out it find him. Morgan scooted around the store before finding Casey near the DVD section.

"Big Mike wants you in the office pronto!"

Casey marched into the Managers office with Morgan following up the rear.

"Glad you could join us, take a seat." The two employees took a seat next to Chuck and then Big Mike began speaking.

"John, Morgan and Chuck are going to run the San Diego store for two weeks, I would like you to go with them and get that store ship-shape. We'll put you all up in a hotel. Just think of it as a holiday from Jeff and Lester."

Casey grunted. "Do I have to share a room?"

"No, you all get a room each, and the company will give you vouchers for meals!"

"This is gonna be great" Morgan rubbed his hands, he was excited. "This is gonna be great" he repeated. "Casey, Chuck we get to run this show and all on the company's expense."

Casey rolled his eyes and grunted.

Big Mike then pulled out from his drawer a large yellow envelope. It had the Buy More logo on it and was addressed to Morgan Grimes. Big Mike handed it to him. Morgan looked back at Mike with a puzzled expression.

"It's for you. You have earned it. Congratulations."

Morgan opened the envelope and put the contents on Mike's desk. Apart from official paperwork there was a personalized expenses card with his name on it.

"I can't send you to San Diego without funding. You now have a Buy More expense account. Use it responsibly or I'll take it back off you."

For Morgan the light in the office suddenly lit up and a shaft of golden light seem to descend from the heavens, Morgan felt like he had truly been blessed. He was going on a road trip with his best friend and best of all and company expense account just waiting for him to use it.

Big Mike stood up, "Boys you can leave immediately. Good Luck". He lent forward and offered his hand. Everybody shook it. Morgan was on cloud nine, suddenly all the planets were aligning in his favour. It's amazing what can happen when a person decides to make a go of his career.

Quick trip home to pack, as this was an open ended assignment they didn't know how long they would be away. They each opted to have a two week supply of clothes and toiletries, then the men were on their way. Casey drove the Crown Vic as they travelled to San Diego., Morgan was in the passenger's seat. Curled up in the back was Chuck, he was catching up on lost sleep after his sleepless night on the beach. After about fifteen minutes Morgan asked if the car needed fuel.

"Do you need to fill up? John."

"Nah, I've got more than half a tank!"

"Are you sure? I hear the Crown Vic guzzles the gas."

"Nah, I've got plenty of gas to get us to where we're going!"

"Yeah but..." Morgan trailed off. The penny suddenly dropped for Casey, he now realised what Morgan was on about.

"You want to use that card of yours!"

"Uh yeah" Morgan replied with a cheesy grin.

Casey pulled over at the next gas station so Morgan could use his expense account for the first time. It wasn't just gas, Morgan purchased all sorts of useless stuff, it gave him something to play with for the journey south.


	4. 4 New kids in town

After an uneventful drive the trio found the hotel that the Buy More booked for them. The three were given rooms side by side and Morgan had the left one, Chuck the centre and Casey took the right one. Chuck opened his room , dropped his kit on the floor , kicked off his shoes and then dived onto the bed. He was quickly asleep.

It was a short walk to the Buy More from the motel. Morgan decide to do some recon first, he wandered into the store to get the feel of the place. He certainly wasn't surprised when none of the floor staff approached him to offer customer service. He purposely acted as a disinterested shopper in the hope no one would pay him any attention while he obversed want was happening on the showroom floor. He spent some time making mental notes of the changes that he would make and Casey to enforce.

Casey having some free time decided he would take the opportunity to visiting some old contacts. San Diego is a naval town and Casey knew more than a few retirees', especially retirees that have bars. It wasn't long before he was relaxing with a tumbler of spirits and enjoying the companionship of former comrades.

It was a long sleepless night for the blonde spy, she didn't get much rest and she knew her game was off because she missed when she tried to skewer her alarm with a throwing knife. She was late for work, it was mid morning when she opened the Orange Orange for business.

No sooner than she had completed the start up processes for the day then she had a steady stream of customers, it was the last thing she needed today, was to be stuck in the yoghurt shop when she had important matters of state to fulfil. It was frustrating to say the least; it wasn't until later on it got quiet enough to slip downstairs into Castle.

Inside Castle, Shaw was busy as usual doing intel on the Ring. He was going over all the new data that came in overnight. He gave a quick glance at Walker when she approached his work station then he returned to what he was doing. After a minute Shaw asked if everything was okay.

"Are you ok?"

Finally she turned around and spoke to Shaw.

"Fine" Sarah's reply was anything but convincing.

"That doesn't sound very convincing."

"I'm just worried about Chuck. I need to talk to him."

"I haven't seen him." Shaw had paused from his research to answer

Sarah moved over to a computer terminal and started to search for Chuck. . She then tapped into the Buy More security feed and scanned the store, after flicking through all the cameras she failed to locate him. She also scanned the store for Casey but he wasn't visible either.

"Daniel, I can't seem to locate Chuck."

"It is possible that Chuck had gone to ground for a few days after abandoning his mission. I don't think he will want to show his face around here for a while. He obvious is not a spy so he should stop pretending to be one. Don't worry, he will turn up."

"He can't just turn up, Daniel, he is still the intersect, and my brief is to protect him. I can't just wait around until he casually walks through the door."

Unsure how to respond to Walker's outburst Shaw returned to his studies. Sarah continued her search for Chuck. She tried his GPS tracker and got a result that she was not expecting. The GPS signal was locating at the railway station. She then tried to tap into the security feed but the vision was not clear, what was Chuck doing at the station? A quick panic overcame her; Chuck was going to run, using the train system as his method of transport.

After pacing back and forth to steady her nerves and find her inner calm, Sarah grabbed her car keys. "I'm going to the railway station, to recover my asset." With that comment she was gone. She needed some fresh air and sunshine. She hoped that whatever train Chuck was choosing was still waiting to depart. Going to the station meant that she was away from Shaw, alone to gather her thoughts,

Using the app on her phone she got a fix of where the signal was originating from. After 12 hours the litter bin hadn't been emptied. She realised that Chuck had gotten rid of the watch. She reached down into the litter bin and recovered the watch, it wasn't much but at least it was Chuck's.

As she looked at the watch she noticed that she was feeling disappointed in what she found, a watch was not Chuck. For reasons she could not explain she felt as if a heavy weight was pushing down on her chest.

After spending several more hours alternating between Castle and the yoghurt store's counter , Sarah's conscience was getting the better of her. She had hoped with all the customers she had today that Chuck would have visited the Orange Orange but he didn't. Another video check of Chuck's place showed no activity.

Morgan had returned to his room and with a notebook wrote the ideas he had down on paper. He sat there for a while surfing through the channels on the TV before waking Chuck so they could get something to eat for the night.

Chuck answered his door looking worst for wear, he really had a bad case of bed hair, the funny animal shapes had turned into a stampede. Morgan took one look and he wasn't amused.

"Chuck, buddy, go and have a shower and freshen up. We'll go out and get some dinner. We got to get you body clock back from being out of whack."

Chuck just looked at him and then turned, grabbed his bag and headed into the bathroom and shower. Morgan took the opportunity to study the local map and thought that a pleasant night walk down by the waterfront was in order.

Once Chuck emerged from the bathroom in a clean shirt and had his hair combed, Morgan could see that his buddy was a functioning human being again. Chuck made a quick call to Ellie saying the boys were out of town for a fortnight on at the company's expense and how they were going to run the local Buy More. He deliberately didn't tell her where. He then rang Casey to see if he wanted to meet for an evening meal but he declined, it sounded like Casey was on bender with a group of his buddies.

After checking their vouchers, the duo decided on diner down by the waterfront. They walked to the Seaport Village and got a table that overlooked the harbour and they had the late afternoon sun shining on them. A couple of cold beers and the setting was perfect.

She decided she needed to clear the air between Chuck and herself, so Sarah visited Casa Bartowski after Chuck's knock off time only to find no one was there. After knocking on the door and getting no answer she then notice the Morgan door was a jar. Taking the opportunity, she entered via Chuck's bedroom window. It apartment was eerily still. Sarah roamed around the apartment but there is no sign of life. He spy sensors where screaming that something was not right. She quickly checked both bedrooms, she instantly knew that personal items were missing from Chuck's room and wardrobe. Her check of Morgan's room, she noticed some items missing off his dresser because of the dust free spots where things used to sit. Chuck and Morgan must have gone somewhere in a hurry. Did Chuck run? Did they both take off? Morgan and Chuck together could be easy or but then they could be hard to find because they could bounce ideas off each other and avoid mistakes.

She noticed on the sofa something the men had missed in their haste. A blue bubble-wrap envelope was unopened. This was odd she thought. Why would Chuck have a mission when he refused the red test? She picked it up and then she went over to Casey's apartment but he wasn't home either. She looked at the Woodcomb's windows and noticed no lights were on, they must be both working. Not knowing what to do next she decided to return to the Castle with the mission envelope.

The Castle felt eerily quiet, no one was there, Shaw must have gone topside to get some fresh air. The only noise was the sound of her footsteps.

On a hunch she check the GPS on Casey's Crown Vic, his car was in San Diego parked outside a bar. Casey was a civilian now so his time was his own and she had no business to check up on him. She wondered if Chuck and Morgan were with him but there was no evidence to suggest it be true. She shook her head as she rejected that idea, Casey was not one who would spend his free time with Chuck and certainly not with Morgan.

As the sun was lowering in the western sky Morgan and Chuck had chilled out with a couple of beers and were content to let the evening absorbed them.

"You know Chuck we should do this more often. Getting away from LA for awhile, take in some new surroundings and letting others cook us fine cuisine. Cheers!"

A clink of the beer bottles as Chuck returned the toast. They each took a swig of beer as the waitress approached them with the menu. Chuck stomach was rumbling, it had been yesterday afternoon when he last ate anything. Basically everything on the menu looked good

The waitress return and the men gave her their order, they had decided that the Greek fair was the best for the tables in the late afternoon sun. Seafood and beer and late sunsets make a great meal. Chuck was a little surprised how easy the beer went down, he had to look to get the waitress attention for another round. Morgan in the meantime had started checking his phone for messages.

Chuck checked his phone for the first time today, for the second time today he had it turned on so his GPS position would be traceable. He checked all his missed calls, he notice that Sarah was ringing consistently since mid morning. He stared for a minute before turning his phone off again and resumed eating his dinner. As he ate he stewed over whether to ring Sarah. Morgan kept the beers coming and Chuck was starting to feel no pain.

He hasn't sure if it was the beer or the encouragement from his friend but Chuck suddenly got the urge to return Sarah's calls.

Back in LA , Shaw offered to take Sarah out to dinner, but she considered on turning him down, she wasn't hungry and she thought that food could have an adverse effect on her at that moment in time. Shaw wasn't going to take no for an answer so he badgered her until she reluctantly agreed. Shaw then made reservations for a Thai restaurant in Santa Monica.

Sarah was surprised by how much food a man the size of Daniel Shaw could eat, it appeared that Daniel was going to eat his way through the menu. Appetisers, entrees and main followed by dessert and copious volume of wine, Sarah on the other hand went for only a bowl of noodles and vegetables. Their meals were eaten in relative silence; some spies aren't good at chit chat in public places.

Shaw pulled out his black Amex card and paid for the meal, the tip was generous and then the spies got up and exited the restaurant. Daniel suggested an evening walk along the beach as the evening was balmy. They made their way to the pier and then turned north and followed the walking path along the beach. As the spies approached Chucks spot as Sarah would call it when her phone rang. Daniel felt a little annoyed by the intrusion, he was certainly hoping on getting a bit tonight. Sarah looked at the caller Id and stepped away from Daniel to answer the call.

"Chuck; where the hell are you?" Sarah had let her emotion come forth.

"I've been seconded, I'm on assignment." Was a flippant reply

"Have they given you another mission?"

"Ha! I have more than one employer." He seemed to be slurring his words

"Chuck, are you drunk?" She said in an angry voice.

"Probably not drunk enough!" came the reply

Sarah could hear a loud burp and some laughter from a third party from the other end of the line. He must be with Morgan, Morgan brings out the silly Chuck in him

"Chuck is Morgan with you?"

"Hey buddy, she wants to talk to you!

"Hi ya Sarah, me and your boy are chilling out, in fact I think he's feeling no pain at the moment."

Sarah heard a roar of laughter on the phone. It seemed that Chuck had fallen out of his chair and Morgan thought it was hysterical. Then she heard another comment.

"Come on it's time to get you home."

Wherever they were, they were drunk and in public but without a care in the world. The phone call ended when the sound of a phone going into a pocket of one of the buddies'. Sarah still didn't know where they are.

The phone call had ended and Daniel and Sarah resumed walking along the path by the beach

"So, your place or mine" Daniel asked.

"Not tonight Daniel, I've got a headache."

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	5. 5 I just can't wait to be king

**AN: I like to thank knightrid3r696 for betaing this chapter. He had said I needed a beta so I drafted him.**

 **"If you want something done you better do it yourself."**

Morgan started the first day as boss humming a song from the Lion King;

"Oh I Just Can't Wait To Be King"

Today was the day he got to run a Buy More and Morgan was in high spirits. Being his first day running the San Diego Buy More, he decided he needs to rally his troops to get them prepared for their first day in charge of a new store. However achieving this is a whole other story, what with Chuck probably recovering from a hangover, and Casey keeping to himself and doing God knows what until the early hours of the morning when he finally got in.

As he was expecting, Chuck was slow to rise. Casey on the other hand was up and about as if he had twelve hours of sleep, when Morgan knew Casey got in around 3:00 am. The trio gathered in the hotels dining room and had a hot breakfast consisting of bacon and eggs with lots of hot coffee.

The walk to the store took about five minutes, in which time Morgan was starting to get on Casey's nerves as a result of his constant humming of that song. They ended up arriving just as the morning crew was opening up. They each flashed their Buy More ID's and were let into the store. Being the new management caused them to become the center of attention in a store that had been seriously requiring new leadership.

Chuck was shocked when he walked into the San Diego Buy More, and it took him a moment to realise what was missing. Whitegoods, the showroom lacked whitegoods, and there were areas of the floor that were bare. Floor space is valuable yet this store was not fully utilizing it. Another thing that surprised Chuck was the lack of staff that was in attendance, or perhaps they were just that short staffed.

With the help of Casey, Morgan had the staff line up in a row so he could formally greet them. He introduced himself as Morgan Grimes, a Buy More employee from Burbank that would be the manager for the next couple of weeks, John Casey as the Green Shirt supervisor and Chuck Bartowski as the man who would take charge and reorganise the NerdHerd helpdesk.

None of the trio expected the first topic that came up.

"When will we get paid?" one of the green-shirts asked.

"What?" Morgan was flabbergasted. "What do you mean you haven't been paid?"

"We haven't been paid for months," came the reply, "That's why there's no-one here. They weren't being paid so they left to find other jobs. We're still here for some reason, I guess because we have a loyalty to the store. A couple of the guys are stocking shelves at Walmart."

"Well you guys don't seem to be starving, so how are you still managing to make ends meet?" Morgan asked, still amazed that the workers were not being paid.

"I.O.U's" they hear someone say.

"I don't understand." Morgan and Chuck echoed.

"On pay day we all write out an I.O.U and we take cash from the store's cash registers for the same amount. One of the problems we've noticed is that we haven't had any new stock to sell, probably because our suppliers won't give us more products due to the fact that they haven't been paid in a long time. We aren't getting paid, the suppliers aren't getting paid and the store is running low on its stock of goods to sell. I'd estimate that within a month there won't be anything left to sell."

"Then we'll be screwed." Chimed in another green shirt.

"Unbelievable." Morgan groaned, running a hand over his face.

The longer this conversation went on the more Morgan understood the enormous task in front of him. He didn't like what he was hearing. What first appeared to be a golden opportunity, now seemed like a giant milestone that seemed insurmountable. He was put in charge of a store with no stock, no cash flow, and a staff that showed up to work came and went as they pleased and hadn't received an actual pay check in months.

From the stories that staff told him, Morgan pieced together that Miss Watson was the accounts lady. He also realized that according to the rest of the staff, she was ancient. She had been at the store for so long that they didn't update the hard copy financial records to a computer based system because they thought she was too old to learn. And besides, Miss Watson was always punctual and reliable. They continued using the carbonated sheets rather than have it all computerised.

Miss Watson never took time off for holidays; she was always in her office keeping the books. When she suddenly took ill some months ago, the Manager didn't replace her, thinking she would be back at work in a day or two. Morgan also learned that due to her advanced age, and the managers lack of managing their employees, Miss Watson hadn't been at work in months.

The manager himself was no longer at work. The staff noticed one day that he wasn't in his office. Initially they were relieved that he wasn't in because he seemed to get in the way of things. It was only last week after one of the salesman rang head office that they realised he been missing for almost as long as Miss Watson.

As there was no assistant manager, the chain of command fell to the head Nerd Herder, Rick Sykes. Sykes was good at his job but he had next to no people skills. If there was a walking advertisement of a socially awkward employee, it was Sykes. He was good at fixing computers but that was it. He also appeared to have recently suffered from an anxiety attack and had not been seen since.

The first improvement that Morgan initiated was the updating of the sales system to a digital, computer-based system, which was Chuck's area of expertise. It was a job that he could get the Nerd Herders to do after organizing them and making sure they had the proper knowledge. He was surprised when he found all the modern sales terminals at the back of the store in the cage area, still in their original packaging, which he found out had been stored there for several years. It didn't take long for him to have wired the whole store with the standard company's accounting system. If Miss Watson were to come back, she would either have to learn it or retire.

Once Chuck had gotten the new system up and running, they then had to train the staff how to use it. Training new staff was something that Chuck was familiar with. Teaching a new guy was generally an on the job experience and he normally sat with him for a few days to make sure he was comfortable doing the job. However, this was the whole store's personnel and he didn't have the luxury of time because there was too many staff to be trained. Even with Casey's help, it would be time consuming and Chuck couldn't guarantee that Casey wouldn't lose it and shoot something or someone out of frustration.

Morgan quickly realised that straightening out the Buy More was not going to be easy because like the Burbank store, the San Diego store must have had a policy of only employing misfits and cretins.

Morgan walked into the Managers office and slumped into the Managers chair.

"So do you want to abdicate now?" Casey sneered.

Morgan leaned forward and rested his head in his hands and shook his head before responding, "No. I need to make a call."

After a few rings, a deep baritone voice came through the line, "Big Mike, its Morgan, what a mess this place is. The entire staff haven't been paid in months and the accounts lady has run off with all the money."

Deep under the Burbank Buy More, and tense teleconference was underway. General Beckman was grilling the Castle station chiefs on why Charles Bartowski was issued an unsanctioned assassination order.

"Who's idea was it to give Bartowski a Red test?" the General sneered.

"That was mine, General." Shaw said. "I wanted to know if the intersect could override Chuck's emotional responses."

"What? Have you not read Bartowski's psychological profile? You have read the psychological assessment with regards to how Bartowski deals with killing have you not?" Beckman asked.

"I have General, but I believed it was an experiment where the rewards far outweighed the risks. Chuck's behavior proves that the intersect can't override the subjects emotions even when it's a life or death situation." Shaw responded.

"I don't need to remind you that the emotional state of the host will affect the usefulness of the intersect." General Beckman stated as if she were speaking to a five year old.

"And what better way of testing the intersect, General. I just needed to know if Chuck was cut out to be a spy. Clearly his isn't. If he is put into a life or death situation that requires him to defend himself using deadly force, it's very likely he will fail. I think it about time we stop dancing around this and put Bartowski in his place. He is an analyst at best. It's foolish to send him out in the field because he needs to be protected at all times. He's tying up very valuable resources." Shaw argued vehemently.

Glancing a view at the other agent present, the General asked "And what is your view on this Agent Walker?"

Sarah blinked as the bluntness of the question, she gave Shaw a quick glance then spoke to the monitor, "I was against the idea General."

"I see," Beckman was clearly not pleased, "Keeping the Intercect functioning has been a full time job for Agent Walker. Getting her to order the Bartowski his so called 'Red Test' has probably damaged the delicate working relation between the two. Bartowski, for all his brilliance, has abandonment issues. Throughout his past most of those he has cared about have left him. His mother when he was a child, and then his father a few years later. His emotional anchor was his sister, as she essentially raised him from the time their mother left. When he was forced into service as an asset, Agent Walker became his handler. Her cover was as his girlfriend, and it was clear Bartowski took a likening to her from the start. Even though he was untrained, he became part of one of the most successful espionage teams this country had ever seen. This three person team managed to take down and destroy Fulcrum almost singlehandedly."

Daniel Shaw went to speak but the General shut him down.

"Agent Walker, can you please refresh me on your current mission?"

Sarah got a sinking feeling in her stomach. "I am supposed to protect Chuck and follow up on any leads his flashes might yield."

"Exactly, so why exactly have you abandoned your mission? Agent Shaw can certainly take care of himself, but the Bartowski still requires protection until he can get a handle on the intersect. I need an agent with him representing CIA interests on the mission. That is why you, Agent Walker, are supposed to keep a close eye on him. A very close eye. Now get back to your post."

"General, where exactly is Chuck? I mean the Intersect." Sarah cringed as she said it.

"Mr Bartowski has been seconded to the San Diego Buy More. That is where you will find him."

Before signing off Beckman glared at Special Agent Shaw.

"Agent Shaw, I want you in my office at 0900 tomorrow! Have I made myself clear on this matter?"

"Yes ma'am." Shaw replied through gritted teeth.

"As for you Agent Walker, the Intersect is in San Diego, go and protect it."

As the screen went black, neither Shaw nor Walker looked at each other They simply turned away from each other and went to different parts of Castle.

"Big Mike, this place is a disaster!" Morgan whined into the phone.

"Now listen son, the first thing you have to do is act like you're in control. I know it sounds easier than it is, but you can't let the staff know you're panicking."

"But what do I do?" Morgan asked, wanting further explanation.

"I believe in you son, otherwise I wouldn't have sent you. Use your experience and your team. You have Chuck and Casey. Get organised."

"Right, right. Chuck and Casey. We can do this. We know the problem we just need to create a solution."

"And Morgan, use your card. Use it and hire a temp accounts clerk." Big Mike advised.

 **Please review.**


	6. Chapter 6 Welocome to the Buy More

Chapter 6 Welcome to the Buy More.

It felt unusual to be packing her suitcase for San Diego, San Diego was a place that had painful memories for a young pubescent Jenny Burton. Sarah had always made the point as to not hang around too long in this naval city. It was San Diego that set the wheels in motion for her to become something other than a dishonest confidence trickster, here was the place that a highly ambitious security officer by the name of Langston Graham had recruited her for what he claimed was for the greater good.

The drive down was fairly routine, using the GPS in her phone for directions she soon found herself taking an exit ramp off the freeway and turning into the San Diego Buy More car park. She opted to park a small distance away from the store's automatic doors. This was because she wanted to compose herself before resuming her assignment as protector of the Intersect.

She had been sitting in the car park for some time, staring at the big box store doors and she still had a firm grip on the steering wheel of her beloved Porsche. She had to focus, she had a million thoughts racing around inside her head. Sometimes life was too difficult for a woman. Remember your orders, remember your mission, remember your training.

How do I approach this, do I do the damsel in distress act with the damaged phone or will I just walk up and make my presence known?

Time for the moment of truth, she got out of her car and locked it before walking into the store trying to steel herself from an unknown reception from her asset. As she approached the sensors on the automatic doors re-acted and with a whoosh noise the doors opened. She could feel the rush of cool air conditioning as she entered the store. It was something about a Buy More, the air conditioning would blow the ladies long hair around, and Sarah had long hair. Just like what happens in the Burbank store. She should have tied her hair, now she would have to comb it later. She could see the man of her desire sitting behind the counter of the Nerd Herd desk in the center of the showroom floor.

Chuck was sitting at the Nerd Herd desk when Sarah walked up to him. He didn't notice she had approached as he was busy fiddling with a computer hard drive and a piece of it had dropped onto the floor. After bending down to pick it up he recognised the voice from the other side of the counter.

"Hey Chuck!" she said with calm tone.

It startled him, so much he banged his head on the underside of the desk. He rubbed his head furiously until the pain subsided, after that, Chuck's movements were slow and deliberate, he collected the fallen piece then he stood to his full height and placed his hands on the Nerd Herd counter. Looking her straight in the eye as he spoke.

"How can I help you, Miss?"

Sarah noticed straight away that he addressed her as a customer. He wasn't smiling like he would normally do. He raised his right hand and gave the bump on the top of his head another rub. How she longed to kiss the boo-boos better. She stared at him for a moment before speaking.

"Care to explain yourself!" the ice queen demanded in a low voice.

This statement was not what Chuck was expecting so he thought he would play it with a straight bat.

"I am the head of the Nerd Herd help desk; do you have a problem with an electronic device?"

Chuck wasn't giving anything away, as far as he was concerned, he was now a private citizen working in retail and not a government intelligence officer. His response got a withering stare form one of America's finest agents. Whatever game Chuck was playing was not one that Sarah was going to play with him. She wanted answers and she was in no mood to piss fart around to get them. She was his handler and he had deliberately gone off the grid to avoid her.

"That's not what I mean and you know it!"

"Do you have a problem with an electronic device, or do you require customer service? I can call over one of our Green shirts to assist you."

"Why have you gone off grid?" Sarah's questions started to have a menacing theme. Sarah was now pushing his buttons, she must have pushed the wrong one because she got a response that surprised her, Chuck answered back in a low voice near whisper.

"In case you haven't realised, I'm not a spy anymore! You told me that yourself! I didn't do the Red test so can't be a spy. I failed. I'm out. The Buy More is all I have left. You want further proof? Look! There's Casey wearing a green shirt. Failed spies do not have a glamourous life. We're lucky if we can walk away still breathing."

Chuck paused to catch his breath then he continued,

"Why are you here? Why aren't you in Washington? Aren't you supposed to be helping Shaw take down the Ring?"

The mere mention of that name caused the hair to stand up on the back of her neck, there are somethings in life that you will regret doing, especially later on when time has passed. But now is the time to get the assignment back on track.

"I am here for you! You are still my assignment!"

"Oh." Chuck sounded as if he was a little disappointed, "So you are not here for me, you are here for you. You are here for this! " he said as he pointed to his brain.

That left an uneasy silence between them, they just stared at each other. Chuck's brain started calculating whether or not Sarah would slap him like she did three months ago. She had slapped him in a nightclub and Chuck was knocked out cold. He still had phantom pain from that occasion. Not wanting to get clapped, Chuck decided to change tack.

"Well in that case, Welcome, welcome to the San Diego Buy More. This is my life now. How was the drive down?" Chuck said with a pang of guilt.

"The drive was fine. I've brought a little something with me." Sarah sneered at him as she handed the blue bubble-wrap envelope to him.

Chucks eyes opened wide and his eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. He was not expecting a mission envelope, let alone the CIA's top agent acting as a courier. Chuck took the envelope and quickly put it out of public view. He put it in one of the drawers. "I don't understand, I shouldn't get these things, I'm not a, I didn't complete.." and then he fell silent.

Chuck stood up and surveyed the store, Morgan was in the Manager's office looking at the accounts, and Casey was in conversation with a couple of green shirts. The store appeared to be quiet as in there was only a small number of customers that the sales staff could easily deal with.

* * *

Morgan was hitting the phone, he had to get the suppliers to send him goods to sell, but it wasn't easy because the Buy More was in arrears with their payments.

"Good morning K & S Wholesale Suppliers. Can I help you"

"This is Morgan Grimes from the San Diego Buy More."

The phone went dead. They had hung up on him. It happened a lot to Morgan this morning, He'd ring a supplier and the moment they found out that he was from the Buy More they hang up on him.

Morgan's phone rang, it must have been auto callback, the number from K & S Wholesale Suppliers was displayed on his phones screen.

"Welcome to the San Diego Buy More, manager Morgan Grimes speaking."

"Don Johnson from K & S Wholesale Suppliers." Was the voice on the other end of the phone.

"Well, Don, What can I do for you?" Morgan was very polite.

"I was wondering when you are going to pay us for all the inventory the store has ordered off us over the last six months?"

"Oh. Well that is going to take some time. You see I've been called in by Buy More corporate and I got here this morning. Corporate have instructed me to get this store ship shape but at the moment it is anything but." Morgan was trying for the sympathy angle, but when you owe a large amount of money sympathy comes in short supply.

"Cut your bullshit buddy. When are you going to pay your account?"

"Sir , like 'I said, I'm asking you to be a little more patience while my team and I work on straighten out this store."

"Well perhaps I send someone around to make you consider accelerating your payment." With that he hung up.

And that's how it was for Morgan, angry suppliers had lost patience and wanted their accounts settled. Somehow he would need to arrange a form of refinancing for the store, or else the store would go bust and close for good.

* * *

It was frustrating the bejesus out of him. He needed a break so he thought he have a quick chat to Chuck to unwind.

When he tried to leave his office he found his way blocked by three rather large and mean looking men.

At the same time Chuck flashed and Sarah saw fear in his eyes.

"Three Mexican goons are walking into Morgan's office."

Sarah and Chuck could see the trio walk into Morgan's office and one of them closed the venetian blinds.

"I've got this!" Sarah said with authority. She was just itching to belt someone. Talking to Chuck had got her wound up and she need some exercise to release the tension she felt in her back and muscles.


End file.
